International Freedom Battalion
The International Freedom Battalion (Turkish: Enternasyonalist Özgürlük Taburu, Kurdish: Tabûra Azadî ya Înternasyonal‎) is an armed group consisting of leftist foreign fighters fighting alongside the People's Protection Units in the Syrian Civil War in support of the Rojava Revolution and against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.123 The formation of the International Freedom Battalion was announced on 10 June 2015 in Serê Kaniyê (Ras al-Ayn). The Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkey/Northern Kurdistan) had been the main force behind the establishment of the group. Inspiration for the group came from the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War.4 The political ideologies among many of the fighters include Marxism–Leninism, Hoxhaism, Maoism, and anarchism. Contents 1 Groups 1.1 Marksist-Leninist Komünist Partisi 1.2 TKP/ML TİKKO 1.3 Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri 1.4 Reconstrucción Comunista 1.5 Türkiye Komünist Emek Partisi/Leninist 1.6 Devrimci Karargâh 1.7 Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity 2 See also 3 References 4 External links Groups The International Freedom Battalion is made up of fighters from left-wing armed groups, most of whom had been fighting with the YPG before the creation of the International Freedom Battalion. These groups include: Marksist-Leninist Komünist Partisi Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkish: Marksist-Leninist Komünist Partisi, abbreviated as MLKP) is an underground Hoxhaist communist party from Turkey. MLKP fighters had been reportedly been sent to Syria to fight with the People's Protection Units since 2012. MLKP fighters have also joined Kurdistan Workers' Party fighting in Northern Iraq in defence of the Yezidi minority in Sinjar.5 In April 2015, it was announced that MLKP founded a permanent military training centre in PKK-controlled areas of the Iraqi Kurdistan.6 In March 2015 a 19-year-old German woman, Ivana Hoffmann, was killed whilst fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant making her the third western fighter, as well as the first female western fighter, to die while fighting alongside the YPG, her death was reported by many mainstream news sources.7 MLKP's female organisation, Komünist Kadın Örgütü, is also involved in fighting.8 MLKP was heavily involved in forming the International Freedom Battalion and has the largest amount of fighters in the group. TKP/ML TİKKO Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye İşci ve Köylü Kurtuluş Ordusu, abbreviated as TİKKO) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (Turkish: Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist, abbreviated as TKP/ML), a Maoist insurgent organisation in Turkey. On March 25th 2016, the TKP/ML TİKKO headquarters in Serêkaniyê were targeted by a motorcycle bomb causing slight injuries to 2 members and damage to the headquarters, 2 suspects were detained by Asayiş.910 Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri Main article: United Freedom Forces The United Freedom Forces (Turkish: Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri, or BÖG), inspired by the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War, were founded in December 2014 in the town of Kobanê as an organization of foreign leftist fighters of both revolutionary socialist and anarchist provenience. However groups such as the predominant MLKP didn't join,11 but eventually BÖG and those other groups participated in the formation of the International Freedom Battalion. BÖG also has a female branch named Kadın Özgürlük Gücü in Turkish.12 Member groups of BÖG include: Revolutionary Communard Party (Turkish: Devrimci Komünarlar Partisi, abbreviated as DKP) Marxist–Leninist Armed Propaganda Corps-Revolutionary Front (Turkish: Marksist Leninist Silahlı Propaganda Birliği-Devrim Cephesi, abbreviated as MLSPB-DC) Revolution Party of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Devrim Partisi, abbreviated as TDP) Social Insurrection (Turkish: Sosyal İsyan, abbreviated as Sİ) Proletariat Revolutionary Liberation Organisation (Turkish: Proleteryanın Devrimci Kurtuluş Örgütü, abbreviated as PDKÖ) Reconstrucción Comunista Communist Reconstruction (Spanish: Reconstrucción Comunista, abbreviated as RC) is a Marxist-Leninist group from Spain. The group carries a variant of the Flag of the Second Spanish Republic. RC has strong ties to the MLKP and members fight as part of MLKP formations, even fighting in Sinjar. Two members of the group were arrested by police after their return to Spain and were accused of participating in an armed conflict outside of Spain without authorization from the state, as well as putting national interests at risk and joining groups fighting against ISIS that are considered terrorist organizations by international organizations.13 In January 2016, 9 individuals were arrested in Spain, 8 Spanish citizens and 1 from Turkey.14 The Spanish Interior Ministry said in a statement that "The detained, in collaboration with other individuals residing in various European countries, were providing the necessary infrastructure for displaced people to travel abroad and to finally integrate in the ranks of the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) or one of the armed wings of the organization" and that the majority of the arrested belong to the group 'Communist Reconstruction'. 15 Türkiye Komünist Emek Partisi/Leninist Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist (Turkish: Türkiye Komünist Emek Partisi/Leninist, abbreviated as TKEP/L) is an illegal Marxist-Leninist party in Turkey. The group have set up their own headquarters in Rojava.16 Devrimci Karargâh Revolutionary Headquarters (Turkish: Devrimci Karargâh, abbreviated as DK) is a Marxist–Leninist group from Turkey. A battalion was created by DK and MLSPB-DC (part of United Freedom Forces) named after Alper Çakas, an MLSPB-DC fighter killed while fighting in Rojava.17 Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity (Greek: Επαναστατικός Σύνδεσμος Διεθνιστικής Αλληλεγγύης, abbreviated as ΕΣΔΑ) is a libertarian communist group from Greece.18 See also List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War People's Protection Units International Brigades Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement References 1.Jump up ^ "New Leftist 'Freedom Brigade' to Join Kurdish Forces in Rojava". TeleSUR. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015. 2.Jump up ^ "Rojava’da ilk Enternasyonalist Özgürlük Taburu kuruldu". YPG News. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015. 3.Jump up ^ "International Freedom Battalion: women of the world, defend the Rojava revolution–a report from JINHA". signalfire. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015. 4.Jump up ^ "The First Internationalist Freedom Battalion Established in Rojava". Isyandan. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015. 5.Jump up ^ "MLKP fighters also in Sinjar". Kurdish info. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2015. 6.Jump up ^ "MLKP komutanı Can: 'Gerilla tarzı yaşam bizim geleceğimizdir'". Etkin Haber Ajansı. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. 7.Jump up ^ "German woman fighting ISIL killed in Syria". Al Jazeera. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. 8.Jump up ^ "MLKP Rojava/KKÖ: Halkımızın acıları acımızdır". Etkin Haber Ajansı. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. 9.Jump up ^ "Islamic State bomb attack against Serêkaniyê HQ of TKP/ML-TIKKO". Signalfire. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016. 10.Jump up ^ "TKP-ML TİKKO’ya yönelik bombalı saldırı". YPG News. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016. 11.Jump up ^ "Enternasyonal cepheye çağrı". Özgür Gündem. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2015. 12.Jump up ^ "Kadın Özgürlük Gücü kuruldu". Hawar Haber Ajansı. August 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015. 13.Jump up ^ "Two Spaniards arrested on return from fighting ISIS in Syria". El País. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. 14.Jump up ^ "Spanish police arrest 9 for suspected PKK links". Rudaw. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016. 15.Jump up ^ "Police Arrest Eight Spaniards And One Turk For Recruiting Fighters For PKK-KCK". The Spain Report. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016. 16.Jump up ^ "TKEP-L Rojava’da merkez açtı". Hawar Haber Ajansı. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016. 17.Jump up ^ "Alper Çakas Enternasyonalist Özgürlük Taburu kuruldu". Hawar Haber Ajansı. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016. 18.Jump up ^ "The International Freedom Battalion of Rojava and participation from Greece". Insurrection News. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to International Freedom Battalion. International Freedom Battalion on Facebook Category:2015 establishments in Syria Category:Rojava Category:Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Category:Communist militant groups Category:Expatriate units and formations in the Syrian Civil War Category:Guerrilla organizations Category:Kurdish organisations Category:Military units and formations established in 2015 Category:People's Protection Units Category:Political party alliances Category:Revolutionary movements Category:Socialist organizations